


In a Minute

by Woody101



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: brief suicide mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:21:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24864460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Woody101/pseuds/Woody101
Summary: How I would portray the return of Natasha Romanoff after her sacrifice for the Soul Stone in Avengers: Endgame.
Kudos: 3





	In a Minute

**Author's Note:**

> TW; brief suicide reference  
> If y'all enjoyed this, make sure to voice your support. Right now, this is a one-shot, but if you guys like this, I can easily make this a series. If I were to make it a series, it would include the rest of the team's perspective, and the travels of Natasha on her way to clear the red out of her ledger.

She awoke, cold, with snow flurrying all around her. Her limbs were numb and her head pounded against the hard stone beneath her. Arms bent out of proportion, she sat up, red hair swirling around her head. It was like she had just woken from a deep sleep. Observing her surroundings, she noticed the tall cliff, which had grey clouds swirling above its apex. Only then, she noticed the red, white, and blue clad man standing at her feet. “Miss me, Romanoff?” he said jokingly. Wordlessly, she flung herself into his arms.  
“Did we win,” she asked, afraid her sacrifice had been in vain.

“Damn right we did,” he responded.

“Well you’ve lost your dislike for…..language,” she said breathlessly. “And the others?”

Steve’s face fell as she mentioned the rest of the team. “Well, there was a battle. It wasn’t looking very good for us, until Sam came in over my com. Then, the magic doctor brought everyone back and we fought a good battle. Thanos had gotten the stones once more, but Tony’s suit had them. Then, he snapped. He’s gone, Nat.”

Looking into her friend’s grief stained face, she could only remember the feeling of going off the cliff. The fear of what would come next, but the hope that Clint would get his family back. Then, the feeling of plummeting several hundred feet, watching the ground get closer at alarming speed. This was her opportunity, to finally wipe out the red in her ledger. She thought of Lila, asking for where Auntie Nat was and handing her a drawing. She closed her eyes, paralyzed and opened them with a gasp. She was alive. She’d gotten another chance at redemption. No, maybe she’d finally get a normal life. But then she remembered. That’s not her. She’d go on, finding a way to blame herself for Tony’s death. She could never rest, she was an avenger. As long as there are people harmed, there would be someone she needed to avenge. But then she remembered that she was very much alive, free to live once more if she could get off this planet.

“Steve...what are you doing here,” she asked, a hint of suspicion audible in her tone. “The floating guy said that it was a soul for a soul. Are you here to jump off the cliff.” Steve attempted to interrupt, but was cut off when Nat said, “I’ll do it all over again if I had to. I have no place in the world.” The motto heard repeated in the Red Room infuriated Steve.

He embraced her tightly, not wanting to get physically angry, as Nat was clearly unstable.

“You do have a place, back with the team,” he whispered into her ear. In the blink of an eye, Nat was on top of him, a knee implanted firmly on his chest.

“And you still haven’t told me why you’re here,” she growled. She thought the worst, that Steve was here to sacrifice himself for her. “I’m not worth your life.”

Steve, who was still under Nat, said in a calm voice, “I’m here to return the stones. It’s a soul for a soul. The stone for you.” She eased up a bit, before returning to her feet. “But first, we have to take a detour.” As he was rummaging in his pockets for what she assumed were Pym particles, she couldn’t help but notice the lines that could only be etched through years of stress. Knowing how to read her friend, she could tell that he was preoccupied with something. She opened her mouth to inquire about what else was on his mind, but shut it as Steve removed his hand from his pocket, two vials of Pym particles clenched inside his fist. “And here you go,” he said as their hands brushed together.

“Grab my hand,” Steve said. He didn’t want her to get lost on their “detour”. ‘Now sync up.” They simultaneously pressed the devices and were sucked into the quantum realm, warm and cool colors swarming around them. Turning a corner, he flew out of Nat’s vision. At first, she didn’t think anything of it. He swerved in and out of her sight, returning with a different appearance each time. The changes weren’t drastic for about a minute or so, until a person wearing a leather jacket with silver hair flew in front of her. Taken aback, Nat jolted, bumping into this person. Turning their head to look back at what had hit them, she recognized these features as belonging to no other but Steve Rogers. Shock barely had time to register before she found herself in a familiar complex. As she surveyed her surroundings, she knew it was the Avengers base, still smoldering, and littered with the bodies of those who had lost.

Taken aback, she took it all in before grabbing a backpack and shouldering it. After her brush with death, she knew not where she would go, but instead what she would do. She would wipe out all the red in her ledger, all of it. Then, she’d finish her mission for good, wiping out the red in herself. She started to walk away, hearing a buzz floating behind her. She chuckled, recognizing it as the drone she despised since Sam first “introduced” it to her. Breaking into a brisk walk, she addressed the drone. 

“Redwing, record a message for the following.” The drone gave a small beep of affirmation before a red dot appeared, showing her that it was listening. “I address the message to the remaining Avengers and their associates, namely Clint Barton, Thor, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, and Sam Wilson . This is not to be repeated outside of these people.” Fixing her hair, she made eye contact with the drone before showing off her signature smirk. 

“I’ll see you in a minute.”


End file.
